Whumptober 2019 - 18 - Muffled Scream
by DinerGuy
Summary: 2018 reboot. They were determined to find Higgins before it was too late, but the scream that echoed through the warehouse told them they were running out of time.


_A/N: If you think I have a thing for protective characters... you would be right. I absolutely do._

_Standard disclaimers apply._

* * *

Higgins woke as her body impacted with the cold concrete floor, and she couldn't hold back the small cry of pain as every aching muscle was aggravated by the fall. There was a shadow looming over her, and she squinted up at it as her memories slowly came back along with the rest of her senses.

Heading back to her car after having watched another of T.C.'s kids' ball games… the black van pulling up in front of her, side door sliding open, as she neared the curb… two masked men jumping out and grabbing her arms… trying to fight only to have a cloth pressed against her face… vaguely hearing her name yelled from somewhere as everything went black…

Something hard prodded her side, and she belatedly realised it was the toe of a boot.

"You and your friend have been sticking your noses where they don't belong," a man's voice growled.

She blinked but didn't respond.

"How much do you know about Isaac Santos? How much have you told the cops?"

Her vision had now mostly cleared, and she could see one of the masked men from the van standing next to her.

A new voice chimed in. "He asked you a question."

Higgins tilted her head in the direction of the speaker. There were two other men standing nearby; one had the build of the second guy from the van, and the third seemed to be new. Perhaps he'd been the driver? She couldn't quite tell with the black ski masks they wore.

The foot kicking her side was accompanied by the man's raised voice. "What do you have on Isaac Santos?"

Even if she had wanted to, Higgins could barely have answered the question as she curled in on herself against the fire that had shot through her at the impact. She coughed as she tried to breathe through the pain, clenching her teeth.

"This is going to get real bad real fast if you don't answer our questions," the first man's voice snarled.

She gasped as she felt the solid toe of the man's boot prodding her lower back, just enough to barely hurt but more than enough to communicate the threat if she didn't comply.

"I… I don't know… who that is."

Her answer was met with a snort of derision. "No use lying. We know you're P.I.s, and we know you've been investigating him. Now, _what do you know?"_

She clenched her jaw. She wasn't about to give up their case on the drug-dealing criminal they had stumbled upon and were now helping HPD take down. There was too much at stake for her to give into these goons. Her friends would find her soon enough. She knew it. She just had to hold out until—

The next kick came, harder than the first, and it flipped her over onto her stomach. She coughed and gasped, clenching her fists and starting to hunch in on herself again—

And then cried out in pain as a foot stomped down on her right arm where it had landed beside her when she'd been sent sprawling.

White-hot agony coursed through her, running up and through her shoulder and flashing into her head. She gasped and choked at the feeling, even as the man slowly moved his boot sideways before stepping back.

"Now, I'll ask you again. What do you know about Santos?"

Higgins swallowed, still trying to breathe past the way her arm felt like it was on fire. She could barely focus on the man's figure as he leaned down and grabbed her chin to force her to look at him.

"Last chance, girly," he growled.

She managed to swallow and glare at him pointedly, even as her busted side and arm were crying out for attention.

"Fine. Your choice. We'll do this the hard way." The man nodded to one of his friends, who stepped over beside him.

When they grabbed her arms to pull her to her feet, she couldn't hold back the agonised scream that felt like it had been torn from her.

* * *

Higgins had left the field first—she had an errand to run—so the rest of the group were all still yards away from the parking lot when they heard squealing tires and looked over to see two masked goons grabbing Higgy.

Their stomachs had dropped in shock and horror even as they'd jumped into action, sprinting across the grass and yelling her name, but they just hadn't been fast enough. The masked men had tossed Higgy's limp form inside the open door, jumped in after her, and the van had peeled off toward the road.

Magnum cursed his decision to ride with someone else that day instead of taking the Ferrari as they jumped into T.C.'s van and took off after the fleeing kidnappers. They saw the tail end of the black van disappearing into the weekend traffic and gunned it in pursuit, but it wasn't long before they lost it.

Nearly breathless with anger and worry, Magnum had immediately dialed Katsumoto. The detective had barely answered the phone before Magnum was rapidly firing the memorized plate number at him.

As soon as he'd heard Higgins had been taken, Katsumoto had asked multiple questions of his own, trying to get information on exactly what had happened while also assuring them that, yes, he was looking into the van as they spoke.

Magnum hadn't recognized the name that came back for the plate, but it was a match to the same make and model as the van that had taken Higgins, which meant it hadn't been stolen off of some unsuspecting citizen's car. Which meant they had a shot at finding her if they went to the address on the registration.

Katsumoto met them at the warehouse, face grim. He had backup on the way, but he knew none of the other three men would wait for it. And, sure enough, they just pulled out their own weapons—the detective didn't even ask—and rushed for the entrance.

The door was unlocked, but the place was dim and seemed unoccupied. It was also _huge, _and no one wanted to voice just how much space they'd have to cover while looking for Higgins. Not that they wouldn't. Oh no. They'd tear the place apart from the roof down if they had to. They were just worried it might take too much time—time Higgy didn't have.

The scream broke through the silence of the warehouse then, muffled by space and what sounded like numerous walls. It was chilling, and they all froze in their tracks as they tried to pinpoint its direction.

Katsumoto cleared his throat and tilted his head, and the others nodded. They had deduced the same direction, although, as the echoes faded, no one was sure how far away it had seemed to be. It was impossible to judge the exact location, so they'd clenched their teeth and started clearing the place room by room.

Rick and T.C. started checking the ground floor as Magnum and Katsumoto headed for the metal staircase. They knew she was on the west side of the building, but that was all they knew. There were so many rooms and walls between them and Higgy—they _knew _it was Higgy—but the way the sound of her scream had been muffled sank in their guts like a stone. They desperately hoped it wouldn't come again… but, at the same time, they needed to know she was still alive, that the scream hadn't meant they were too late… and they also knew—but didn't want to admit—they might need it to for them to find her.

Magnum had just finished checking yet another empty office when the scream came again.

* * *

She couldn't help it. She didn't want to give these men the satisfaction of knowing they were succeeding in hurting her, but she also couldn't hold back the reflexive scream when the men yanked her arms behind her back. Her damaged right forearm was sending continual signals of pain to her brain, but she couldn't _do _anything about it as she felt the zip tie tighten mercilessly around her wrists. And every move made it even worse.

Her side was burning too, exacerbated by the way the men had hauled her to her feet and shoved her into a metal folding chair. She bit her lip, trying to choke back the sounds of pain, trying to communicate to these men just how much she detested everything about them.

But she could feel the tears that had gathered in the corners of her eyes from the trauma her body had already endured, and, as hard as she tried not to let them escape, she knew they'd already started leaking down her face.

The first one, the one who was apparently in charge of questioning her, extended a hand to prod at her damaged rib, and she felt her breath catch in her throat at the overwhelming agony of the movement.

"Hmm, looks like it might not be broken all the way. Would be a pity if something were to happen to damage it more, hm?" he asked her, leaning in just slightly to exert more pressure on her side.

Higgins was only partly successful in holding back her cry of pain, and it came out as a strangled sound that had the man grinning.

"Now, I'll ask you again," he told her, moving his hand back before repositioning it against her side and pressing in ever-so-slowly. "What do you and HPD know—"

"HPD! Put your hands up and step away!" The shout from the doorway stopped the man mid-sentence.

It was Katsumoto, she knew his voice, and Higgins coughed on her sigh of relief as the guy in front of her continued pressing on her ribcage.

"I will shoot you if you don't move back _now!" _That was Magnum now.

Even through the pain rolling over her, Higgins also felt warm relief filling her. They'd found her, like she knew they would.

After a long moment, the masked man lifted his hands in surrender and and slowly stood. Higgins sagged as the tension being held against her side was suddenly gone, trying to control the relieved gasps that threatened to send her reeling into unconsciousness at the pain they were causing in her chest.

Katsumoto rushed forward and pushed her interrogator to the ground, cuffing the man none-too-gently. When Higgins' gaze flicked over to where the other kidnappers had been standing, she saw Rick and T.C. zip-tying the men's hands behind their backs.

And then Magnum was by her side, pulling out a knife to slice through her bonds.

She hissed a pained gasp as he touched her shoulder, and he immediately lifted his hands and sat back on his heels.

"What? What is it?" His worried gaze searched her as if looking for signs of injury.

"I… I think he broke my rib," she gulped. "And my… my right arm."

Magnum nodded, a cold rage filling his eyes even while he still looked at her with a warm encouragement. "Okay. I'll go slow, okay? Just stop me if it gets too bad."

She gritted her teeth as he gently reached behind her, a small groan escaping her lips as the tie was cut and her arms fell apart. It felt like she could barely move her right arm, and she couldn't hide the whimper as she felt it hit the side of the chair.

"Hey, shh, here. I've got you." Magnum was back in front of her, gently helping her shift her arm to rest on her lap. His brow crinkled as she cried out softly in pain again, but he just continued to move slowly and surely.

She gasped as she cradled her injured arm, hunching over to relieve the stress on her side.

Magnum shook his head and turned to look at the others, but Higgins didn't pay him any mind.

It was getting cold… She realised the shock of the ordeal had started to hit her and shivered, grimacing at the way even that made her injuries spike.

Fabric draped over her shoulders, and she glanced up to realise it was Katsumoto's blazer now resting on her shoulders. The detective pulled the jacket gently around her and gave her a warm smile.

Higgins tried to return it, but only the very corner of her mouth complied. She thought she could hear sirens in the distance but didn't look up.

"It's okay, Higgy." Magnum's voice was back. "We've got you. An ambulance is on its way, okay?"

She just nodded and sagged back against the chair. He was right. Her friends had found her, just like she'd known they would. And it was all going to be okay.

* * *

_Fin._


End file.
